AI innovations Need a Human Touch

As a marketing communications professional who’s always embraced technology innovations (and a lifelong learner, that includes Artificial Intelligence), I’m interested in how AI can reshape (i.e., reform, improve) healthcare. One such technology that came out this week is Healthbench — a diagnostic tool powered by AI for health recommendations.

Simplified, Healthbench can augment trusted online health resources, such as (my fav) Cleveland Clinic articles, offering a logic-driven “if this, then that” solution to help you address a health question/concern. For individuals without medical training, this kind of support in an emergency could be incredibly empowering.

This tool recognizes documented conditions and gives advice — based on some 5,000 conversations with clinicians, which fueled its data set. However, any unusual, rare, or complex patient situation can confuse it. Without a clinician/physician who can detect subtle signs, recognize an atypical situation, and explore options, it’s like treating the symptom without knowing the cause. Or it’s like putting a band-aid on a cut without knowing about how you got cut (risky and only part of the story).

Sure, it can also analyze patterns and make recommendations based on data, but it doesn’t understand nuances like a clinician can because it lacks context and the professional judgment needed to interpret information for real-world patient needs.

It can also present a plan or recommendations, but without a trusted relationship with a clinician who can explain the “why” behind it, a patient is unlikely to follow the advice.

While General AI gives a machine the intelligence to perform a task that a human would perform, in the healthcare system, it probably won’t see the best patient outcomes unless it is through collaboration with human expertise of a clinician. It reminds me of a time in the technology sector when investors bought into, “if we build it, they will come” scenario, where an idea is developed by a brilliant engineer or programmer who creates something innovative, but without customer insight or experience in the real world.

Many are concerned that AI technology will replace humans, but AI services like Healthbench will help healthcare; but it’s the combination of clinicians (human touch) and data that will ultimately deliver better patient outcomes.